The Excavation of Sutton Hoo
The Excavation of Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is an entire group of 17 mounds uncovered first in 1939 by Basil Brown that have been confirmed to be medieval burial mounds. Brown uncovered “the remains of a ninety-foot long, clinker-built wooden ship of the 7th century” which was outlined by iron rivets. (Archaeology, 1) Within these 17 mounds they uncovered ships, bodies, urns, and other objects. In mound 1 they uncovered a very rich burial which is believed to be the burial of the leader of the Wuffing Dynasty, Raedwald. This burial site was dated to 625 A.D. Later in between 1965 and 1967, Rupert Brice-Mitford continued excavation actually lifting all of the ships rivets which allowed others to excavate further. A Sutton Hoo Research Committee began the re-excavation of mound 2 and started to excavate mounds 5, 6, 14, 17, and 18. Through these excavations led by Martin Carver, they uncovered 39 burials, thought to all be execution burials from the 8th to 11th centuries. In mound 17, near mound 5, they found the burial of a young prince dubbed “the Sutton Hoo prince”. In this burial mound they found the remains of a possibly 20-year-old man with a sword and shield buried next to his horse. With the horse were pieces of a leather bridle and iron and bronze ornaments, obviously showing the high social status. Toward the western side of the burial ground they found multiple 2-4 meter ring ditches which originally help posts or beams, but none were found. In the same area, they found large amounts of burnt bone deposits. This suggests the previous presence of a pyre used for cremation. They also uncovered a series of nineteen coffin edges containing sand bodies and objects. Many of the objects buried with the bodies were weapons such as swords, spears, and shields suggesting a male, and others contained brooches and bead jewelry, suggesting a female. One grave had “a male with sword spear, shield boss and decorative shield-mounts.” (Archaeology, 1) Because of the
Cited: “Archeology” The Sutton Hoo Society. na. 2013. web. 13 Mar. 2014. “Welcome to the Sutton Hoo Society” The Sutton Hoo Society. na. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.